Define Beautiful: Legally Married
By · Jun 02 2011
Beautiful is being with the ones you love.
I don’t know about you, but I can always tell the photos where I’m truly happy. Being with my sisters usually makes me the happiest of anything, and I can see the difference. Whether we’re dressed up for Christmas Eve dinner at our grandmother’s or just hanging out sweaty and flushed at a college football game, those pictures are the most beautiful to me.
They’re genuine. They’re real. They may not be perfect, but they showcase the love and joy we feel when we have the opportunity to be together and to create those lasting memories.
Beautiful is also being brave enough not to be with the ones you love, being strong enough to make those hard decisions. It’s beautiful when I see my best friend laughing at a coworker’s bridal shower. It’s beautiful not because of her looks, although she looks stunning with her long blond hair and her blue dress that highlights her glowing eyes. She’s beautiful because if she hadn’t made a life-altering decision to call off her engagement, she actually would be married right now instead of celebrating someone else’s special day – married to someone who was all wrong for her and who hurt her over and over. But her smile and her laugh are beautiful because they’re stronger, because they encompass all the struggles, the tearful nights and the hard decisions she made that have made her a stronger, more self-sufficient woman.
It’s beautiful when I hear my sister’s voice telling me that she’s ended a bad relationship. In these situations, even tears are beautiful, because they show the stronger mettle underneath, the woman who’s brave enough to be alone, to ignore the pull of her heartstrings and to be sucked back into a destructive place in her life.
These women are beautiful because they know they deserve more, and they’re brave enough to wait for it, instead of settling for good enough. They’re beautiful because of the nights of soul-searching that have purified their characters, making them stronger and better people.
Beauty’s not just in a smile or a laugh – sometimes it’s a tear, or a sigh, or a moment of quiet resolve.
The Beautiful Project: More definitions of beautiful, posted on Thursdays. Send me your answer to “what makes you feel beautiful” to natalie at thebobbypin.com.
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Wow. I really loved this post.
Nikol recently posted..A Few Unpopular Opinions That I Hold
I think the only response to this is: YES! I agree.
Lindsay recently posted..In The Meantime…
Stong, brave and confident women…I totally agree.. Beautiful post.. I love reading “define beautiful”.
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[...] The Beautiful project was created by Natalie and includes many different definitions of beauty beyond what we see in pretty faces or striking scenery. She adds new Define Beautiful posts each week. Go give it a read if you have a chance. Here’s the link to mine. [...]
The beautiful project? I love it. That first picture sucked me in. I’ve got a whole box full of pictures with my sister and I probably making similar faces. And you’re right. You can tell when you’re genuinely happy. I’ll look at some pictures and the moment still comes flooding back to me years later. Amazing, isn’t it?
Brave enough to not be with the ones you love. To make the hard decisions. I wish it wasn’t true. I wish we could always be with that person or make the easy decision but you’re right. I might have to write up my own definition and email it along.
Indeed… I also find it beautiful as long as the captured photo makes me laugh even I have the most stupid stolen photos.
Normal photos are sometimes boring
But stolen shots?
Classic
Great post! I completely agree!